The third president of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson, served from 1801 to 1809. At the early age of thirty-three, he was a principal drafter of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, becoming a key leader in the American Revolution. He secured the Louisiana Purchase and chartered the University of Virginia, serving as its head in 1819, ten years after his term as president ended. During his presidency, one of his main goals was to discover, “the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce,” placing immense importance in declaring sovereignty over land that was occupied by Native American tribes at the time. To discover the best and most direct water way and resources the country had to offer, he organized an expedition of the Corps men and volunteers, led by Captain Merriwether Lewis and close friend, Second Lieutenant William Clark. This is now known as, ‘The Lewis and Clark Expedition,’ or ‘The Corps of Discovery Expedition.’
The duration of the missions took 862 days, from May 14, 1804, to September 23, 1806. Their trip made notable contributions to science, though that was not the main objective. The expedition was sponsored by the American Philosophical Society, with Lewis and Clark receiving brief instructions in numerous subjects that they would need along the way. They became known as “Pioneering Naturalists,” because while on their journey, there were new discoveries in the fields of astronomy, climatology, mineralogy ornithology, ethnography, geography, botany, zoology, and geology, which unbeknown to them, are now classics in American Scientific Literature. They describe over two hundred new plants and animal species in their writings as well as over seventy native American tribes and they brought back many artifacts and specimens. Just two men leading a small group of forty on an exploration, became major contributors in the annuals of history.
The journey commenced in 1804 at Camp Dubois, Illinois, and after crossing the Continental Divide, the first to do so, they ended up on the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River in 1805. During this trip Lewis and Clark drew over 140 maps. This changed the existing mapping of northwest America, because it provided an accurate depiction of the relationship of the Columbia and Missouri River’s sources as relating to the Rocky Mountains. Stephen Ambrose, American historian stated, “they filled in the main outlines.” They arrived at a landmark, Cape Disappointment, name thus by Captain John Meares, a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader,17 years prior, because he was not able to sail through the entrance of the Columbia River. He made the mistake of thinking it was only a bay, which he called ‘Deception Bay,’ and did not discover the river he had read about in a Spanish naval officer’s memoirs. Lewis who had sailed ahead of the others stated, penned by Patrick Gass, “They had been round the bay, and seen where white people had been in the course of the summer; but they had all sailed away.” This gave Cape Disappointment a completely different, and unhappy meaning to the men of the Corps because they never saw a ship.
Meanwhile the remainder of the men traveled northward, coming to what Clark referred to as ‘Dismal Nitch,’ because they were hit by a treacherous winter storm, which waylaid them off the river for six days, and prevented them from reaching the supply ships. William Clark wrote, “A feeling person would be distressed by our situation”. The men needed food and clothing desperately, and he was concerned for the Corps safety. However, once the storm ceased, they forged on, with great reward. Dismal Nitch is now known as the last camp sight of Lewis and Clark before spotting the Pacific Ocean.
Looking at their journey, in between Cape Disappointment and Dismal Nitch we find Station Camp. This became a lookout point because several major landmarks could be seen from there. They spent ten days there, exploring the nine miles in between the two points. It is stated,
On 15 November 1805, a break in the weather permitted the party to paddle its canoes around Point Ellice to a sandy beach between the point and Cape Disappointment, Station Camp, where they were to spend the next ten days. Captain Clark concluded: “…this I could plainly see would be the extent of our journey by water, as the waves were too high at any Stage for our Canoes to proceed any further down.” Sergeant Gass put it in a different light: “We are now at the end of our voyage, which has been completely accomplished according to the intention of the expedition, the object of which was to discover a passage by the way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean; notwithstanding the difficulties, privations and dangers, which we had to encounter, endure and surmount.”
At Station Camp, two men, having been through the same trials and situations share different opinions and perspectives of their journey. One saw the waves as obstacles to continuing their journey, while the other saw that though it was the end, they had accomplished what they had set out to do. He saw it as a successful expedition despite what they had to face.
Though 220 years have passed, we can go to any of the places that Merriwether Lewis, William Clark and the 40 Corps and volunteer men discovered in their exploration of the then new Louisiana Purchase. The internet guide gives this summary,
Today, the Cape is a Washington State Park which pays tribute to the many different uses of the area, from a military outpost during the Civil War and World War II, to iconic lighthouses. You can hike through old-growth forest or around freshwater lakes, saltwater marshes, and ocean tidelands. Gape at the breathtaking views. Launch your boat from Baker Bay. Benson Beach is a popular clam-digging destination, and fishers love to set up on the North Jetty to catch salmon and crab. The beaches at Cape Disappointment also lure kite-fliers, sand-castle builders and those who love to walk and explore.
But be sure to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center for numerous interactive displays. Standing high on the cliffs of the Cape, two hundred feet above the pounding Pacific surf, the Center is filled with information, artwork, and film presentations about the Corps of Discovery.
In our journey of life, there are going to be ups and downs, trials and tribulations, disappointments, and discouragements, and fortunately, a beginning and an end. It is important to see that the beginning of the journey must end, to acknowledge that you are progressing, and it is important to realize that there is an end, since we know that the journey can be arduous, and we are striving for the prize that awaits us. This general knowledge of the expedition allows us to forge ahead with confidence. Though we do not know how all the ins and outs of the journey will play out, we know who is in control.
In 2 Timothy 2:1-15 Paul admonishes, “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that wars, entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strives for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strives lawfully. The husbandman that labors must be first partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say, and the Lord give you understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore, I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abides faithful: he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Notice that when the explorers got to Cape Disappointment, not only was it already named that, but it did not carry the same meaning for Lewis and Clark’s men as it did for John Meades, who named it. We will all have our own experiences whether disappointments or successes. Technically, they could have renamed the location because they had found the mouth of the river and had discovered something that others had not. Because fatigue and physical need overwhelmed and enveloped them, they embraced the name along with their current circumstances. However, they overcame the temporary situation they found themselves in. Though they did not make the supply ships because of the storms they encountered on Dismal Nitch, they received assistance from the Indigenous people of the land along the way. It is an amazing revelation to know that our trials and tribulations do have an expiration date. 1 Peter 1:6-9 tells us, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 5:10, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
Though many of Lewis and Clark’s discoveries and challenges during their expedition were not told for many years, due to unpublished accounts, they were celebrated for their successful leadership roles, and they are widely known now. Upon their return, they took different paths in life. In 1808, Meriwether Lewis was appointed Governor of the Louisiana Territory, but his political career did not match his past successes in exploration. He was said to have made enemies on the political front due to his ‘impetuous manner’ and lack of integrity in his business dealings. He did not navigate the political waters well. Unfortunately, it is said that he sank into a deep depression because of the pressure of career and life that he felt, although this was partly self-inflicted, that in 1809, while traveling to Washington D.C. he committed suicide. How tragic for a life so full of adventure, discovery, and success to end in such a sad way.
William Clark continuing his chosen career path of public service, became Indian Superintendent and Governor of the Missouri Territory from 1813 to 1820. Though it was brief due to his friend’s untimely demise, Clark maintained his friendship with Lewis after the expedition. Clark worked to get their journals edited and published, which did not happen until ten years after the expedition. History tells us,
Clark’s biographer Landon Y. Jones notes: “For 30 years after the expedition, William Clark ranked as the leading federal official in the West, the point man for six Presidents, from Jefferson to Van Buren, who trusted him with protecting American interests on territory bitterly contested by both Britain and Spain.”
William Clark died in St. Louis on September 1, 1838, at age 68. Clark was originally buried at his nephew John O’Fallon’s property, in 1838. That area is now known as O’Fallon Park. The funeral procession stretched for more than a mile and cannons fired a military salute. The entire city of St. Louis mourned his passing.
Though Clark was known as a cruel enslaver, his military career and life in public service received accolades, because he did not give up on life, he lived it. He married and had eight children and continued to live with disappointments and tragedies, as well as successes and accomplishments.
Let me share a poem with you called, The Dash by Linda Ellis, which is worth contemplating.
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own, the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real,
and always try to understand the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile,
remembering this special dash might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent YOUR dash?
In between Cape Disappointment and Dismal Nitch, we find Station Camp, the lookout point, the Dash, aka life, where we can enjoy, contemplate, regroup, explore, and make discoveries we never thought possible, until we decide to forge ahead. If we give up, admit defeat, or say it just cannot be done, we will miss what God has for us. The trials are only there to make us stronger and develop character in us for what is up ahead, they are only a miniscule part of the dash, they have an expiration date.
The Psalmist David had himself a massive Cape Disappointment experience, otherwise known as a pity party in Psalm 73:1-16, “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride compassed them about as a chain; violence covered them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore, his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they say, how doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak; thus, behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me.”
But in verse seventeen we get to Station Camp, the lookout, the dash, and he begins to see what really matters in life. David says, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I, their end.” Then he finishes off his realization and contemplation in verses 18-28, “Surely, thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes; so, O Lord, when thou awake, thou shalt despise their image. Thus, my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was like a beast before thee. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart failed: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.”
If we surrender our lives to God, he will direct us every step of the way, from the first date, which is birth, through the highs and lows of the dash, aka life, all the way to the last date, which is and inevitable appointment for us all. Lanny Wolfe, who was the Dean of Music in the bible college my husband and I attended, wrote a song that sums it up, called, “Only One Life, So Soon It Will Pass.” Only what we have done for Christ will last. Let us not waste another day on negative thinking and worrying about the winds and the waves that may be ending our journey, and realize, that we have made it to the Pacific Ocean! As Sergeant Gass put it, “We are now at the end of our voyage, which has been completely accomplished according to the intention of the expedition…notwithstanding the difficulties, privations and dangers, which we had to encounter, endure and surmount.” We have accomplished what we have set out to do hand in hand with Jesus. We can look over our lives and see that between Cape Disappointment and Dismal Nitch, God’s abundant blessings have been and are still upon us.